Hi all, and happy Thursday!
The above is one of my favorite sayings. I think of it often these days, when I hear--as I do almost daily-- "what's taking so long?" Why the delay on gun violence legislation? On democracy reform? On infrastructure? Why is everything seemingly slowed to a crawl?
The wind, it seems, has failed.
Yes and no. Part of this is just the inherent slowness of democracy. As Teri Kanefield said this morning, "Politics in a democracy is deliberative. The checks and balances intended to create stability also create a slow process...in an autocracy, things can move swiftly, or even instantly...democracy is ‘grinding’ work."
She's right.
AND we are in a place of extreme gridlock.
So what hasn't failed? You and me. Our slow, constant, persistent work WILL get our boat where it needs to go. The trick is not to throw the oars away and give up entirely before we arrive.
It's time consuming. It's hard. It's relentless. But it is working.
So let's not stop now.
Call Your Senators (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent calling for a couple of reasons today:
First, I have a few women's health related bills I want the Senator to support. They are the Abortion is Health Care Act, which would permanently reverse the Helms Amendment, the Global HER Act, which would repeal the global gag rule prohibiting recipients of U.S. funding from speaking about abortion, and Katherine Clark and Bob Menendez's newly-introduced Reproductive Rights are Human Rights Act, which will direct the State Department to permanently include reviews on the status of sexual and reproductive rights in its annual human rights reports.
I also want the Senator to vocally support the creation of a January 6th Commission--I know the vote is today.
[If Dem add:] If Republicans filibuster the Commission then for God's sake Democrats need to vote to overturn the filibuster. If we don't take a stand on investigating a seditious assault on our Capitol then what are we even doing in power?
Call Your House Rep (find yours here)
Hi, I'm a constituent. My zip code is ____.
I'm calling to ask if the Congressmember is aware of the Brady Center's recent efforts to reduce gun violence with their Combating Crime Guns Initiative. It works to shift the burden of gun violence from the shooters to the suppliers of crime guns, including irresponsible gun industry actors who prioritize profit over public safety. I think this approach is smart. I have emailed your office a longer explanation and links to the Brady Center's resource page. Will the Congressmember please take a look? [Then email them the Resistbot script, using either Resistbot or their Contact Us form]
Also, please ask the Congressmember to co-sponsor Katherine Clark and Bob Menendez's newly-introduced the Reproductive Rights are Human Rights Act, which will direct the State Department to permanently include reviews on the status of sexual and reproductive rights in its annual human rights reports. Thanks.
Extra Credit
Let's send this email (ideally a bit personalized) to Michael Regan, the EPA director, at: Regan.Michael@epa.gov
Dear Secretary Regan,
I urge you to fully follow the 9th Circuit Court's order and ban chlorpyrifos now. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should have taken action to ban all food uses of chlorpyrifos a long time ago. The science on this chemical is crystal clear, and people who have been harmed by it during the last decade of inaction deserved much better from their government.
While states like Hawaii, California, and New York have stepped in to end agricultural use of chlorpyrifos in their states, they cannot prevent residues of chlorpyrifos on food coming in from other parts of the country. Only the EPA can do that; I urge your agency to do its job and ensure our food is safe for children nationwide.
Please immediately ban all uses of chlorpyrifos to protect public health and the environment.
Thanks!
[Name]
[City, State]
Let’s Save Democracy!
Win West Virginia now has four weekly phonebanks asking voters in West VA to call Joe Manchin about the For the People Act. They're using Hubdialer--this is good news because it is great at screening out voicemails—last Saturday there were over 200 patch throughs in two phone banks!
The list being called today and Saturday will contain voters more likely to be progressive. Can. You. Help? EXCELLENT training provided.
Tuesdays 2:30-5PM PST Register here.
Thursdays 2:30-5PM PST register here.
Saturdays 10AM-12PM PST Register here.
Saturdays 1-3:30PM PST Register here.
Resistbot Text (New to Resistbot? Go here)
(Make sure you copy and paste this into your Resistbot—no need to retype!)
[to all 3 reps and your statehouse reps too] [H/T]
Hi, I'm writing as a constituent to ask you to address the supply-side of gun violence.
More than 100 people are killed by gun violence every day in the United States, and even more people are wounded. As you may know, gun violence disproportionately impacts Black and Brown Americans and half of all homicides occur in just 127 cities and towns. But guns don’t just appear in these communities.
Everyday gun violence in communities across the US is fueled by irresponsible and unlawful gun sales. While local and national programs work to intervene and prevent violence through direct services, these efforts aim to decrease the demand for guns. We also must address the supply of illegal guns.
A supply-side approach includes strategies that curtail the irresponsible behavior of gun dealers, not just ‘the shooter’. Implementing a behavior change approach that holds dealers accountable, coupled with existing intervention and prevention efforts, local communities could experience a reduction in homicide and shooting rates in even the most impacted neighborhoods. As your constituent, I am asking that you please take action to combat the diversion of guns into the hands of those who should not have them. This does not require complex policy change, and can be done in ways like expanding existing regulations and incentivizing better industry practices.
The Brady Center has put together several proven strategies to restrict the flow of crime guns into our community: https://www.bradyunited.org/reports/combating-crime-guns-a-supply-side-approach
Please, take the time to review these strategies that can pair successfully with existing prevention efforts. Thank you for your consideration.
OK! You’re done!
Have a great day, be gentle with yourself, and know that I’m on the bench right next to you, rowing away, too. 🚣🏼♂️
Talk tomorrow.
Jess